Most Dota 2 players invest their time to see themselves improve by climbing up the ranks. Still, few players embody persistence quite like AndreyIMMERSION, who spent 40,000 hours stuck in Herald.

After years of memes, milestones, and unrelenting effort, the Russian player has finally broken free from the bottom. As of October 2025, the world’s most dedicated Dota player has ranked up to Crusader.

Who is AndreyIMMERSION?

Over the years, Andrey has become something of a cult in the Dota 2 community for his record-breaking grind. He has become a living meme, having recorded over 41,000 games on his main account, yet remains stuck in the game’s lowest rank, Herald. He’s been deemed the unofficial King of Herald, a title few would ever want.

Outside of the game, Andrey is a chill guy who retired from the Russian army. He’s pushing 40, and has gained lots of traction from the Dota community for his unwavering passion and inability to push past the lowest rank in the game.

Throughout his lifetime matches, Andrey has a win-loss record of 19,486 to 21,723, putting him at a lifetime win rate of 47.15%. His favorite heroes are Night Stalker and Wraith King, with 4,800 and 3,600 matches played, respectively.

The “Herald King” No More

However, we’ll have to unfortunately retire his title as the Herald King, as Andrey climbed from Herald to Crusader – the third-lowest rank in the game – in just two weeks, reaching a new personal high.

At the time of writing, Andrey has already broken past Crusader III, which means he’s sitting at roughly 1,800 MMR. This is about 1,200 MMR higher than the bracket he’d typically been stuck in for years (and tens of thousands of matches).

So, What Changed for Andrey?

Ignoring meta heroes and putting aside his Wraith King and Night Stalker grind, Andrey discovered a new hero to find success with – Winter Wyvern.

Over the course of his past 100 ranked matches, Andrey achieved a stellar 35-3 record on the support hero, even managing a 22-win streak while he was on the grind.

How Far Can Andrey Go?

Despite being stuck in the lowest tier for his entire Dota career, it really seems like Andrey has found his groove, gaining over 1,000 MMR in the course of two weeks. This sort of performance suggests his recent improvement might not be a fluke.

If he continues on this trajectory, Archon, or even Legend, might not be out of the realms of possibility. For a player who’s put more hours into Dota than most professionals, it’s poetic that his persistence is finally rewarded.

Still, no matter how high he climbs, or if he deranks all the way down to Herald again, one thing’s for sure: AndreyImmersion is a Dota 2 legend in his own right.